Gay Pride festivals around the world

In New York gays celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriages - while
millions around the world continue to campaign for an end to discrimination.

2:39PM BST 27 Jun 2011

Over the weekend millions of gay, lesbian and trans-gender men and women celebrated at Gay Pride festivals and parades across the globe. In New York, the city's 18th annual Pride Fest proved the perfect opportunity to celebrate the state's decision to legalise same-sex marriage.

The state senate voted 33-29 in favour of the measure at Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement in the United States.

The world's biggest Gay Pride parade took place in Brazil, where nearly three million gays, lesbians and transvestites paraded down the main avenue of the country's business capital Sao Paulo showing their pride in a blaze of color and festive music.

In May, Brazil's Supreme Court legally recognized homosexual partnerships in a landmark case for gay rights in a country with the world's largest population of Roman Catholics.

Meanwhile the Pride parade in Chennai City, India demanded greater awareness about discrimination experienced by Indian gay community, which bars many from education and obtaining jobs in the country.